One of the most common ways Whiteness has policed me is by getting mad when, needing to describe a person for another person, I name them as White. The only acceptable races to name are those that are not White. We are supposed to be the unnamed, unchallenged norm.
I was always the rebel. As a 72 year old heavy white woman, I do wear the dress code of my people. Instead I wear a lot of bright colors all together in great splotches, or patterns.
Is there a white culture? Yes, and I do not fit in very well.
I loved your post. It awaken in me the disparity between the healthcare African American women receive in comparison the care white women receive. My young, white, blue eyed, blonde doctor showed me how much she cared about a painful shoulder she sent me for physical therapy which hasn’t helped. I’ve taken OTC pain relief meds, topical pain relief ointments, all with no relief! After two months of constant pain, especially at night while trying to sleep, I requested a stronger pain relief med, which was denied with nonsensical excuses of why not! I know that if my race & facial features matched hers, a pain relief Rx would be at my pharmacy now waiting for me! How trifling is that?
Another thoughtful and informative post. I was struck by the intentional pathology of “whiteness”. On my job as a nurse case manager I daily examine pathology of my clients concerns. This is in order to understand the origin of the disease or sickness. You did a stellar job examining the sickness of Whiteness. A disease that’s seems to be without cure.
One of the most common ways Whiteness has policed me is by getting mad when, needing to describe a person for another person, I name them as White. The only acceptable races to name are those that are not White. We are supposed to be the unnamed, unchallenged norm.
So much wisdom in this post. Thank you.
I was always the rebel. As a 72 year old heavy white woman, I do wear the dress code of my people. Instead I wear a lot of bright colors all together in great splotches, or patterns.
Is there a white culture? Yes, and I do not fit in very well.
That was supposed to be, "I do NOT wear... "
I loved your post. It awaken in me the disparity between the healthcare African American women receive in comparison the care white women receive. My young, white, blue eyed, blonde doctor showed me how much she cared about a painful shoulder she sent me for physical therapy which hasn’t helped. I’ve taken OTC pain relief meds, topical pain relief ointments, all with no relief! After two months of constant pain, especially at night while trying to sleep, I requested a stronger pain relief med, which was denied with nonsensical excuses of why not! I know that if my race & facial features matched hers, a pain relief Rx would be at my pharmacy now waiting for me! How trifling is that?
Another thoughtful and informative post. I was struck by the intentional pathology of “whiteness”. On my job as a nurse case manager I daily examine pathology of my clients concerns. This is in order to understand the origin of the disease or sickness. You did a stellar job examining the sickness of Whiteness. A disease that’s seems to be without cure.